Having been spared being the next home of the miserable Oakland Athletics, now The Rio faces the question of whether there’s life after Caesars Entertainment. To that end, owner Dreamscape Cos. is going to try to go it alone as a casino operator. We wish them luck because they’re going to need it. Operating a casino in Las Vegas is not for the faint of experience. It puts a bucketful of problems in the lap of President Eric Birnbaum. Dreamscape says its aim is “to preserve the property’s bones and honor its legacy.” So far so good. Making a go of an off-Strip resort won’t be easy, as the newish owners of Palms Casino Resort and the many chefs over at Virgin Las Vegas could tell you. (Hell, Mohegan Sun is quite candid in admitting that Virgin is struggling as a casino.)
Dreamscape is dreaming big. First up is an extensive room renovation that is undoubtedly much needed after years of malign neglect under Gary Loveman. Next up are the convention center, the pool area and the restaurants, long a bastion of strength at The Rio. (Hey, bring back a buffet while you’re at it.) The good news continues when one learns that original Rio visionaries Marnell Architecture will be back to supervise the makeover, done by a who’s-who of casino-architecture firms. It’ll evidently be a rolling renovation, as the resort will not close for any of it (which can be a kiss of death). The Rio’s status as an outpost of Caesars Rewards remains nebulous, although we wouldn’t be surprised if Dreamscape has a different loyalty program up its sleeve. Anyway, The Rio’s exterior is by far the most beautiful of any casino-resort in Sin City and we’re glad the old gal is due for a refreshing spa treatment at Dreamscape’s hands.
If you’re a sharps bettor, DraftKings doesn’t want your business. In a new-ish strategy that might be summarized as ‘Suckers Wanted,’ the Boston-based company is targeting fish who are susceptible to long-shot, high-hold bets. For instance, multi-leg parlays pay back poorly and the more legs, the worse. So guess what DraftKing is pushing? Of course, the emphasis on wagers that pay poorly for the consumer is music to Wall Street‘s ears. Both J.P. Morgan‘s Joseph Greff and Deutsche Bank‘s Carlo Santarelli enthused about the change of direction yesterday, raising their price targets on DKNG (which still trades somewhat modestly compared to its hype).
Santarelli did caution that the new tack might play poorly with consumers over time. He likened it to the advent of 6:5 blackjack and multiple-zero roulette on the Las Vegas Strip. True, Sin City saw a 3.5% increase in visitation during the 2014-19 period. But table game wagering per visitor fell 12% during that same period, suggesting rather strongly that Joe Sixpack was getting wise. We never talk about basis points (too abstruse) but DraftKings holds on average at 560 bps compared to the rest of the OSB industry’s 330 bps. That’s a wide and worrisome discrepancy.
Fanatics has stepped in it again. The nascent OSB provider held a July Fourth party for NFL players. The league is trying to look the other way. However, league rules clearly state, “NFL Personnel may not accept a complimentary room, service, or other gift from a Gambling Entity if its value exceeds Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250) … Soliciting gifts of any value is never permissible.” So what sort of freebies were on offer at the Michael Rubin bash, and how much value attaches to the free food and drink? By having the party nominally hosted by Rubin himself, rather than by Fanatics, the latter slips through a loophole the size of Lambeau Field. Also, the league—rather than “protecting the shield”—seems to be covering the ass of one Robert Kraft, a guest of honor at the Rubin shindig. Hypocrisy, thy name is Goodell.
They’re number one. Las Vegas, that is. WalletHub has released its annual survey of the best cities (and the worst) for recreation and Sin City comes out tops. While we don’t think of listening to music as “recreation” necessarily, Las Vegas is Numero Uno for number of music venues. It’s also eighth in bike-rental facilities. These help lift some decidedly mediocre scores in other departments. Las Vegas is no better than 48th for walkable park access and 29th for swimming pools per capita (and in all that heat, to boot). We’re 26th in park playgrounds per capita and 17th in parkland as a percentage of city area.
It’s weird to come out at the head of the list and yet say there’s work to be done, but clearly there is. Granted, things could be a lot worse. New York City, Los Angeles and Long Beach finish in the bottom tier. Maybe they could use a few casinos.
Las Vegas casino security got another black eye this week after it was revealed that it had allowed a renegade biker (or is that a redundancy?) to tear-ass through multiple gambling floors. “This individual had created multiple events on Las Vegas Blvd, where he rode through casino floors, up stairs and escalators,” reported Las Vegas Metro. “He did wheelies up and down Las Vegas Blvd and ran from Law Enforcement” —as well he might. Casino guards, in the meantime, did what they do best: nothing.
Eventually Metro cuffed the perpetrator “without incident.” At that time it was revealed that he was also wanted for one felony count of child abuse and neglect, one felony count of coercion with force or threat of force, one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon and eight misdemeanors. Obviously a fine, upstanding citizen. As for his casino rampages, security evidently made the calculation that it was better to let the biking bandit roam free, and possibly run over patrons, than intervene and maybe, just maybe hurt someone’s feelings. Chalk it up as another black mark against the Strip and its laissez-faire way of doing things.
More bad news in the war against smoking. Tribal Leech Lake Gaming is caving to nicotine addicts and reimposing smoking on three of its four casinos. In a craven move, CEO Michael Michaud “said in a press release that gambling and smoking go hand in hand and that all casinos in Las Vegas have re-introduced smoking … they determined that smoking is a key component for guests in choosing which casino they’ll visit.” So the vast majority of players will have to suffer for the comfort of a degenerate few. The cowardly Michaud based his decision on “feelings,” namely “it’s important to those who do smoke in northern Minnesota to have a choice.” Right now our feeling is that Michaud deserves to be kicked in the keister, but we’ll counsel restraint instead.
Jottings: If we were of a mind to spend our birthday in Macao, we could attend the (tsk, tsk) soft opening of Raffles at Galaxy Macau. The resort won’t be fully ready until year’s end but that’s not stopping Galaxy Entertainment. 450 suites are on offer at Raffles, which promises to be lavish even by Macanese standards … In casino-saturated Illinois, there’s one less gambling hall for a while. Wind Creek has delayed its Chicago Southland Casino until the start of 2025. When completed, the $529 million Homewood casino will offer 1,350 slots and 56 table games, and will be promoted by the Chicago Bulls. A 2023 debut had been contemplated … TV isn’t the only battlefront for gaming-ad bans in Australia. An Internet fatwa has also been proposed. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy & Legal Affairs wants a more or less clean sweep made of online advertising, effective 2027 … It only took five months for Rivers Casino Portsmouth to tally its one-millionth customer. Norfolk resident Terri Powell was rewarded with four show tickets, free dinner for four and a thousand bucks in free play … Guy Fieri‘s presence in the gaming industry continues to grow like a fungus. He’s opened Chicken Guy at Caesars Palace and Flavortown Sports Kitchen at Horseshoe Las Vegas. “I’m always tellin’ people to live big or go home,” crowed Fieri, not elaborating on whether that large living includes major coronaries.